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Balance of Souls: Incursion
Part 1 "How irrevokably dull", spoke a voice within the dark. The sound took up everything like a piercing screech that would shut down all other senses in order to command attention. At its source stood a woman, not uncomely in appearance, of average stature and with dark hair that seemed to glisten with a tint of blue. She dressed in armour, though the style evoked some similiarities between herself and the frozen Balancer Marshals. She looked upward at the sky, her eyes focused on the black Sun above. The only one who could see her, the only one somehow unaffected by the sheer weight of her Reiatsu had been Zetsubō Usuguraiboshi. The newborn Tsumikami looked around, clearly unperturbed, and then walked on Mamoru Nakatani's motionless body toward the newcomer. "What have you done, woman?", he asked with a hint of cheerful curiosity, absent-mindedly swinging his scythe back and forth with only one hand. "Oh?", her gaze fell on the approaching Zetsubō, only now becoming aware of his presence. Her yellow eyes examined him for a brief moment before they shifted to look at something else, as if he wasn't worth paying attention to. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show you", she spoke before drawing the sword from the ornate sheath that lay strapped to her side. The motion of it triggered a change in the environment. They were at once bathed in an orange glow and soaked in intense heat, so too was the landscape behind them. High above the darkened Sun had started to shine, a beacon of red light as it burst into life as a roaring sphere of fire, the very sky ignited under its intensity whilst crags and crevices formed and erupted across the ground as if the entire level of Hell was ripping itself apart. The weight of her Reiatsu, that which had suffocated everything except the new Tsumikami faded in an instant. Just as a blade wreathed in flames came down upon him, with such speed that the motion had been invisible. A large gap formed between his neck and right shoulder, running all the way down to his waist, his flesh hadn't so much divided as it had been incinerated, searing ashes flowing out from behind the tall figure, the sound of sizzling flesh emanated from the wound, much of it having been cauterized instantly. Usuguraiboshi fell to his knees. Even though caught completely off-guard by the powerful attack, he did not as much as emit a single grunt, and did not let go of his nightmarish scythe. Instead, he swayed for a short while before slanting forward and supporting himself with both of his hands. Streaks of smoke were rising from the incinerated gash. "I hate fire", he remarked rather casually. Meanwhile, Hyo started to rise up from the ground, he shook his head groggily, as he started to observe his surroundings, as he did so Naoko, who was only a little ways behind him, also rose up, all signs of Jamansim's powers gone from her, she stood up, looking ahead of her at both Hyo and what was in front of him. "Hyo!", she shouted, using Shunpo to move next to him quickly, she helped her fellow Marshal up before turning back towards the spectacle they were staring at. "She's been released.", Hyo said wearily. "Hm? You're alive", said the Force-Marshal with an amused touch to her words. She went on to ignore the injured Tsumikami, stretching her muscles and flexing her joints as if aclimatizing to her new environment. With a flick of her wrist a small burst of Reiatsu, at first dark and then a more vibrant blue emerged around her. "It seems I have you to thank, Hikari Maebure..." The older Tsumikami shook his head, as if recovering from shock. He looked at the Balancers, his injured disciple and then, at the woman approaching him. "So they've been after you", he said quietly. "Your gratitude may be slightly premature", he added grimly, lifting his left hand as if signaling the Force-Marshal to halt. "Oh, and why is that?", she had halted on her path towards the being, idly curious as to what he had to say. A ways off Zhong had descended to the ground from his previous perch in the sky. He fell onto his kness as soon as he'd landed, panting heavily as his exertions and injuries took their toll. But he'd regained his mind at least. "So we were used as batteries, hm?", he contemplated, looking on at their revitalized leader. "Seems like it, doesn't it Zhong-san.", Naoko replied, she and Hyo were slowly walking towards the elderly Balancer, a tired look in both of their eyes. "Are you okay, Zhong-san?", Hyo asked quietly, he extended a hand out towards his comrade, waiting calmly. Mamoru lifted himself on his hands and stood up, slowly but surely. Even with grevious injuries, and blood on his back, abdomen and spilling from his mouth, he straightened up and began walking unhurriedly toward his peers and superior, still holding one sword in his left hand. "We have succeeded", he declared quietly. In the meantime, Hikari lowered his hand and looked around quickly, analysing the situation. Thanks to his disciple's intervention and the unexpected arrival of another opponent, he had been able to regain his senses before he got carried away. Together with Zetsubō, he would be able to beat the initial four. However, a brief analysis of the peculiar woman's Reiatsu revealed she was significantly more dangerous than any of them. So dangerous, in fact, that he could only beat her in a duel; while he had completed initial training, Usuguraiboshi was nowhere near as strong as would be required to take care of the other four in the meantime. In any other case, odds like this would only make him smirk, but this time the enemy's numerical advantage translated into advantage in power as well. Suddenly, he understood the momentousness of this event with frightening clarity. He remembered far too well what happened each time he acted impulsively in such a situation, as every memory of such an instance was eternally carved on his ripe old psyche, forever fresh and haunting. Whereas it hurt his pride deeply, he simply had to swallow it this time. Another time, whispered a familiar voice in his head. "Even though you've revealed nothing of importance, I think I know what your goal is", he replied at last, still considering the situation. "And if I'm correct, then our goals are directly opposed to one another. As such, your return is meaningless, and you'll have to witness the utter failure of your mission with your own eyes", he finished with a cold smile. "Oh? How do you figure that?", her eyelids closed down slightly showing obvious intrigue as she observed her surroundings, first the pair of Tsumikami, then her own Marshals. The fight had certainly escalated a fair bit, and she would profess, at least within her own thoughts that Tsumikami's abilities were a complete unknown to her, but that had only stopped her from steamrolling over something once before. She wouldn't let it happen that away again. "Judging by what's happened here, you, your pet, and my subordinates seem to be on fair enough terms, so I hazard to think my impending failure could be coming from you, but please, do go on", she replied, emphasizing the right words to denote sarcasm in an otherwise straight laced answer. Zhong had ignored the hand given to him, climbing to his feet of his own strength. "I feel whatever is to come, our part is about to be minimalized for a time", he stated without his characteristic malice for once, making his answer seem almost empty. Hyo lowered his hand as he too looks towards the Force Marshal, he merely stared blankly, not saying a word as he felt a chilled wind sweep past them all. Naoko sighed while she sheathed her sword, she had a look of mixed relief and discomfort on her face. "I forgot how scary she could be.", she murmured, just loud enough for her peers to hear her. Smoke ceased emanating from Zetsubō's wound, which had started regenerating, albeit the process was slowed down due to the instant cauterisation the woman's attack had caused. Nevertheless, Usuguraiboshi himself did not seem to notice either, and he gazed at her intently, motionless. Hikari noted that, observing him with the corner of his eye. "I used to be one of you", he said, calmly sheathing his sabre. "And just as short-sighted. You and your friends were nice enough to remind me of my new way, however. Heed my words, for they aren't empty promises", he continued, rising his right arm. Suddenly, his palm was wreathed with electrified energy, which then burst into a shining . The Tsumikami swung his arm and the tendril rapidly shot forward. However, it did not target any of the Balancers; instead, it wrapped itself around Zetsubō's torso. With a jerk just as swift as the manoeuvre that had preceded it, Maebure pulled his disciple toward himself and then effortlessly swung him backward in one broad motion, right into a fiery portal that unexpectedly opened a couple of metres behind him. Usuguraiboshi was thrown inside, and vanished instantly afterward. Hikari ended the abrupt manoeuvre slanted and with his knees bent, his left palm aimed at the Balancers. "Sayōnara!", he shouted with a cold smile. Before anything else could happen, a blast erupted from his hand and blew up mid-way between him and the apparent leader of his opponents. And just as the strong wind got rid off the smoke caused by the explosion soon afterward, both Tsumikami and their portal were gone. "Well that's a massive shame", she said to the air, her hand wafting away at the smoke in front of her. Deciding to waste no time on the fleeing Tsumikami, the Force-Marshal instead turned to her injured subordinates and set about a series of hand motions that summoned a series of visible but calming winds that passed over them, immediately beginning a hasty reparation of their wounds. "So, lets play catch up", she began whilst the healing process did its thing. "I know why I'm here, but why are you lot here? Did grow a conscience at the last minute?", she had started to ask, loathfully aware of how little she knew about the world around her in the present time, Naoko stepped forward, kneeling down formally. "Yamamoto's dead.", Naoko said bluntly, her face painted with visible, blatant annoyance and hatred at the Shinigami's very name, "The Soul Society has been taken over by Quincies, and they have been taking over the hollow slaying duties the Gotei did, threatening the very balance of souls itself.", she finished off, her voice surprisingly dry and bland. "Our Yushitou were broken, allowing us to escape from Muken, however, after we found out about this, w-we decided to come here to f-free you Force Marshal-sama.", Hyo said nervously, he was also kneeling down formally as Naoko had done so. "The damage caused by the Quincy appears to be extensive", added Mamoru with a polite nod, which nonetheless stood in stark contrast with the behaviour of his comrades. "It is highly advisable to act immediately. I believe we should dispose of the Quincy first, so as to halt the disruption of balance, before we act directly to fix the damage that has been already done." "Okay, back up, back up", the Force-Marshal's forearm looped around in the air repeatedly to simulate her intent to have the conversation enter a rewind. "Hyo, Naoko, stand up, you're going to give poor Mamoru here a sore neck, then someone explain what to me what a Quincy is", she watched them all expectantly, though Zhong was the first to speak up. "They're relatives to magic hunters, Humans with special abilities, this particular group have the power to slay or with the added detriment of eliminating their soul from existence, hence the current predicament", he relayed the information with his typical dryness, losing only his usual contempt for everything around him with his words. "Hm... And they have supplanted the Gotei you say? My, that is troubling", she replied with a nonchalant demeanour, seemingly uncaring for the growing instability of the spiritual realms. Both Hyo and Naoko stood up slowly, both their faces uncharacteristically serious, Naoko looked up to face the Force Marshal, brushing her hair out of the way slightly. "They power of these Quincy are lower than our power, as we were able to overwhelm their shock troopers, however, these shock troops also are quite large in number, not to mention, they seem to have lower echelon soldiers as well.", Naoko continued. "We need to reactivate our own forces to complete all the necessary tasks within the constantly decreasing timeframe", stated Mamoru. "Alright," she had acquiesced to the continued pestering of the declining balance, deciding she should at least deal with this so-called impending threat to the world's existence. "I take it more of us still yet live?", she asked working under the assumption that more than the Marshals were imprisoned in the Muken. "Yes, there is, however only a few of our subordinates have been released from the Yushito, however in time they should resurface.", Naoko replied, she rubbed her head in annoyance, the effects of Jamansim's ability, while not affecting her, still was hurting her head slightly. "Even though I command the Detention Corps, I can ascertain that my troops will actively participate in our operation", said Nakatani. "In such a dire situation, we should forget about our secondary duties and focus solely on the primary goal of our organisation as a whole." "Then lets start it right, bring them all here", her words were definitive, commanding. Were they to restore the balance of souls and oust out these Quincy, they would need an effective fighting force and a fast acting plan, as well as a lot of necessary culling in the near future to adjust that balance. Part 2 Silbern, . Early Morning. Several hours had passed since the gathering in front of the Gate of the Sun and since then the hustle and bustle of Silbern's halls had died down. The were no longer haphazardly running through out the labyrinthian castle doing whatever they could to cope with their situation, instead they had been granted specific duties, whether it be finding their newest enemy in the Balancers of Souls or preparing for an eventual attack by the Gotei 13's ancient predecessors. In one particular section of the icy fortress, the members of the Mitteilungteil loomed over various pieces of illuminating machinery, large contraptions that looked like a fusion between organisms and technology to perform the function of a computer, or a radar. Originally belonging to the and now manned by the Quincy, they were able to monitor the various spiritual realms with these machines, even peering into the . They analyzed spiritual pressure like blips on a map, the stronger it was the easier it would be to identify, as such it wasn't the most difficult task to find their enemy's readings within the lowest depths of . "Miss Byrne, you're going to want to see this", said the inquisitive Soldat that made the discovery, beckoning the Sternritter over to his station with a wave of his hand. "What is the problem?", Kerri asked calmly, she briskly walked over to the machine the Soldat was at, upon reaching him, she started looking at the monitor the Soldat was pointing at, the screen was displaying a luminescent blue glow, various charts and statistics plastered upon it. "The Balancers? Or another threat?", Kerri asked the Soldat that beckoned her. "They are the Balancers", spoke a grim voice. Karl Schwarzwald stood not far behind the female Quincy, leaning against a pillar and partially obscured by its shadow. Nobody had seen him enter the room. "I recognise one of them", he revealed whilst approaching Byrne unhurriedly. Then, he stood beside her and slanted forward, gazing at the monitor. "That guy", he pointed at the Balancer in question, nearly touching the screen. "He gave me and Brother Firepower a run for our money. Any idea what are they doing down there?", he addressed the last line to the Soldat. "Residual build up of suggests a battle took place between the Balancers, and... what seems to be , sir", spoke the Soldat. Just as he turned to face his superiors, his face was immediately drawn back to the screen as it began to light up with the blips of more and more presences. "It looks like more are being intentionally summoned to that spot, this isn't good.", Kerri mused to herself, she beckoned another Soldat who immediately came towards her and Karl. "Report this to Lord Bamshad.", she ordered the Soldat, who immediately complied, taking off in order to deliver her message. "They're probably lower level forces than what you, Anders and the others fought, however their number is admittedly quite worrisome.", she said quietly to her fellow Stern Ritter, she furrowed her brow in concern, looking at the monitor for any changes in the tiny indicators. "Scheiße", commented Schwarzwald. "There goes our numerical advantage." "Quincy have long made due with cunning and ingenuity as our only advantage", said the age old voice of Vitor Zeferino from the back of the room, the Soldat carrying word from Kerri passed by him quickly, necessitating a momentary sidestep from the elderly figure. "This battle shall be no different, young master Schwarzwald", he continued with confidence. It was a few minutes before the lone messenger could traverse the great halls of the Quincy fortress to reach Roshan's quarters. Behind the lavish double doors was a rather spartan-looking accomodation, certainly large enough to contain all manner of pretty bauble but largely left undecorated besides a few very old and dusty antiques and the required ammenities such as a dresser and bed. The Soldat spotted the blonde middle aged figure lazing about atop that very same bed, using the sheets as an oversized headrest beneath him. "Lord Bamshad, we've located the Balancers within the lowest of Hell, they are gathering allies there", the soldier delivered his report quickly, ignoring the visible cringing Roshan displayed at the title applied to him though he had little reaction to anything else. "Alright then, gather up our men in the throne room, lets see what we can pull together", the man leaped from his bed with surprising energy given his injured state and quickly led the Soldat out of the room, the two figures going their seperate ways as the door closed behind them. Part 3 Silbern, Throne Room. Morning. The large hall was filled with numerous Quincy in various forms of dress, from the clandestine outfits of the Insicht's scientists to the customized uniforms of the various Sternritter. They had scattered off across the room, huddling up into their own little groups to talk amongst each other whilst the most veteran members, Anders, Roshan, and, Vitor did the same at the far end of the room in front of the long empty throne. "Alright, the defences are taken care of?", asked Roshan with his voice low. "Yes, all of our forces have been alerted and mobilised. We are prepared to defend crucial locations, and numerous teams are patrolling the entire area", stated Schäfer. "I've tweaked my instruments a bit", added Timothy Jones. "We'll know about their presence the moment they take the first step into our territory." Meanwhile, a bit further back in the throne room, Haiiro, Kaede and Aileen were grouped together, idly chatting about the events that had transpired of recent times. "I wonder how powerful these guys really are?", Haiiro said lazily, his wounds and odd illness had finally healed, the young Quincy stretched slightly before continuing. "I mean the guy me and Kaede fought seemed to be tough, but I don't think the soldiers of their ranks would pose a threat, oh well, I guess we'll find out soon enough.", he concluded happily. "I dunno, they might just give us a run for our money", replied Kaede as she thought about it. Back with the veterans, Roshan had passed his gaze over each member as they spoke up, giving him a certain amount of reassurance in their situation. He stepped beyond his fellow elder Quincy and the room fell quiet when they realized that he meant to address everyone present. "As you guys may already know, we've had a run in with some fun hatin' folks callin' themselves the Balancers of Souls, they've taken it upon themselves to end us and restore balance to the spiritual realms", he explained rather dryly compared to his usual need to be round about and sarcastic. "They also happen to think an alliance to achieve the latter goal is beneath 'em, I know, you're all upset", he continued on. "We've gotten word that they seem to be massing within the lowermost level of Hell and will likely attack us here in Soul Society before too long, whilst we've shored up as much as we can for that inevitability, I'm not a defensive man, me, I prefer to take the fight to the enemy, and so, we need a way into Hell", he stopped there, offering no solution of his own though without directly asking a question of his gathered subordinates either. He left it to them to ponder and realize on their own. "What about the ?", asked Karl Schwarzwald, the hood of his uniform put on his head. "Shinigami used it to travel across the dimensions. Would it work?" "Sadly not.", Kerri replied to Karl, approaching the hooded Quincy as she did so. "In order to traverse the Senkaimon safely, the use of Hell Butterflies are needed, however as we're not Shinigami, the Hell Butterflies do not heed to our commands, rendering us unable to use them to travel through the Senkaimon.", Kerri explained, her voice trailing off in the large throne room as she finished. "So we can't rely on the Shinigami's technology then.", Haiiro said aloud, the young Quincy looked as if he was deep in thought before finally giving off an expression of defeat. "How about some kind of spell? There are spells we have that allow us to go to other dimensions after all.", Haiiro suggestion, shrugging as the mass of Quincies looked towards him. "In this case, Gintō would be unreliable", rebuked Vitor. "Hell is not connected to the that link the Human World and Soul Society, nor does it share a link with the spiritual pathways that lead to , our spells would be useless unless we figure out just what hides behind those skeletal gates", he continued so as not to brook a request for explanation. "Such a pity", came the effeminate voice of an Arrancar at the back of the room. "I had been experimenting similarly, only with the Shinigami's , thus far I had been able to replicate a spell that allows them to leave the Hell dimension as they wish but not enter it", he explained a bit of dramatic flair here and there as he went on. Timothy kept stroking his beard in the meantime. He tapped his index finger on the chin a few times, and then moved slightly. "Maybe...", he started, hesitating. "Maybe we could help?", asked a deep, disembodied voice all of a sudden. Two very tall figures clad in black, hooded robes emerged from the shadows in between the pillars that no one had paid attention to earlier, and calmly walked toward the Quincy before halting several metres from the closest of them. The stranger at the front, slightly shorter than the shadowy giant looming behind, looked around at the perplexed Wandenreich members, his face obscured from their sight. "I might be able to help you with this predicament", continued the intruder. The entire hall, save Vitor and Roshan, all reacted as one would, turning towards the intruders they all got into their stances, some even summoning their Quincy bows and drawing their Zanpakutō's. Due to the abruptness of the stranger's entrance, Kerri jumped at their appearance, which subsequently activated her powers, causing her sleeve to sporadically start a small fire, she quickly beat out the fire with her hand before cautiously approaching the figures. "First of all who are you? Also, how would you be able to help us?", she said in a serious manner. "Well okay, steal the boss' job while he's right here Kerri, way to hurt his feelin's", said Roshan jokingly. Vitor turned to him with a squinted look of annoyance given the blonde man's lack of caution in the situation and his current state. The cloaked man hesitated for a moment, baffled by the odd behaviour of the Quincy. However, he quickly regained his composure and turned to Byrne. He took off the hood and revealed his ashen, scarred face and medium-length jet black hair. His scarlet eyes were fixed at the young woman. "I am Hikari Maebure", he introduced himself. "And this is my disciple, Zetsubō Usuguraiboshi", he added shortly, tilting his head at the man standing silently behind him. "We're both denizens of Hell, and we both happen to know how to get there easily." "Being a denizen of Hell is believable, and so is the fact that you would be able to traverse to hell is also believable, what isn't believable however is the fact that two denizens of Hell would co-operate with anyone unless they were planning to betray them afterwards.", Kerri retorted sternly, ready to retaliate at the two at a moment's notice.